▶ Your Answer : Some people think that there is no bigger emphasis on the reading and writing capabilities than there was before. However, in my opinion, being able to read and write is more imperative than ever before because otherwise there will be difficulties in one’s daily life and one will have less job opportunities.
To begin with, one will find carrying out daily activities challenging without the ability to read and write in modern days. This is because illiteracy rate has decreased significantly compared to the past in most of the countries, and thus most people expect others to be able to read and write like themselves, notifying essential information in written forms and asking them to fill out forms in words in public facilities without anyone’s help. This indicates that one should be literate to perform basic tasks in everyday situations. A case illustrating this comes from the experience of my maternal grandmother who is illiterate. Several years ago, before I was born, she was able to go to other parts of her town by bus with ease, because all she needed to do was to ask the bus driver when and where it headed to. However, nowadays she is no longer willing to take the bus and instead prefers to ride her neighbor’s car because now all the information about depots and arrival times are presented on boards or on screens. Since almost everybody rides the right bus after reading them, bus drivers tend to find her asking a nuisance. This clearly indicates that literacy capability is now considered as a basic asset one should possess, and therefore without it people’s lives would be restricted in many areas of their daily functioning.
Furthermore, the ability to read and write has paramount importance in acquiring a job. It goes without saying that all well-paid jobs require job candidates to have obtained some forms of education qualification, and for one to acquire it they must be literate beforehand. Even for positions that do not require qualifications, such as those in service sectors, many instructions or tasks come in the written form and there would be many occasions where the worker have to write in order to carry out requested tasks. This is supported by a news article from a South Korean station, which illustrates that 20 years ago the proportion of people who were illiterate among those having low-paid labor jobs was about 35 percent, whereas this year they constituted only about 8 percent. This highlights that being capable of speaking and writing is almost a pre-requisite for any job positions, and therefore without it one would have a slim chance of functioning as a proper member of the society.
To sum up, literacy capability is required for people to go about their everyday lives and to get a job these days. In this regard, I maintain that knowing how to read and write is crucial today than it has ever been. |